Chapter 17 The Truth Spills Out

Lemmy watched as Ludwig slept. They were currently in the lab, and Ludwig was lying on a cot. He had been sleeping for the past week, so naturally, Lemmy was worried about him. He had spent most of his free time by his brother's side, only leaving the lab when he absolutely had to.

"Come on, Ludwig, wake up," Lemmy whispered to his brother for the umpteenth time. Ludwig finally began to stir. His eyelids slowly fluttered open, and he turned his head over to Lemmy. Lemmy smiled in relief.

"You're awake!"

Ludwig groaned as he started to sit up. He put his hand to his head and rubbed his eyes. Then he turned to Lemmy with a weak smile.

"It's nice to see you, Lems."

"Same goes for you," Lemmy replied. "It's so nice to see that you're back."

Ludwig nodded.

"It's nice to be back." Then the smile slowly fell from his face. "I hope nothing like that happens again."

"I don't think it will," said Lemmy. "After all, we will be on our guard from now on." Lemmy chuckled. "If any duplighosts try to mess with Ludwig von Koopa from now on, then they have to face the entire Koopaling army!"

Ludwig chuckled.

"Army?"

"Yep, army. That's my word of choice, and I am sticking with it."

Ludwig shook his head while smiling. Then he looked down at his hands.

"What's wrong?" Lemmy asked.

Ludwig sighed.

"I just...when I was in Stonebrim, I saw the burning buildings. I could hear the people screaming. And it was all thanks to my powers."

Ludwig had fear in his eyes now. Lemmy realized exactly what was on his mind.

"Did it remind you of Frostwall?"

Ludwig nodded his head as he looked at Lemmy with tantalizing fear.

"Walking into Stonebrim last night was like walking into that nightmare again."

Lemmy nodded. He could understand that. He could still remember the fear that Ludwig had experienced when they were going through the town. It had been powerful, deadly even.

"Frostwall certainly was a big deal, huh?"

"Of course!" Ludwig placed his hand to his Jasper, squeezing it like a stress ball. "I…" tears started to reappear on his cheeks. "I never want to do something like that again. After all, any life taken away…"

Ludwig started crying again. Lemmy went up and wrapped his arms around his brother.

"Would it help if you told the others about it?" Lemmy asked.

Hesitance appeared in Ludwig's eyes, hesitance and fear.

"I…I...I don't know."

Lemmy started to feel aggravated. Ludwig has been hiding this secret for far too long. Stewing over it, crying over it, feeling guilty about it. He deserved some help. Lemmy knew that he couldn't give it to him on his own. He needed his siblings. Both of them needed their siblings. After explaining this all to Ludwig, the special sighed.

"You're right. You're absolutely right."

Right at that moment, the other Koopalings entered the room. Iggy looked relieved when he saw the eldest, sitting up and fully awake.

"Ludwig!"

The other Koopalings entered the lab and went over to his cot. Ludwig gave a weak smile.

"Hey guys."

"Oh man, you have no idea how worried we were about you," Wendy said as she gave Ludwig a hug. "You've been asleep for the last week!"

"A week?" Ludwig asked as he turned toward Lemmy. "Lemmy didn't tell me that."

Lemmy shrugged.

"You never asked."

Roy laughed.

"Well, it doesn't matter," he said. "Now that you are awake, everything can go back to normal."

Morton gave a grin.

"Yeah. We don't have to worry about duplighosts destroying things anymore."

Ludwig nodded.

"And thank the developer for that."

Larry looked at Ludwig in concern.

"You okay, Luddy?"

Ludwig winced at the nickname. Lemmy recalled that Aria had called him that, so long ago. Ludwig glanced over at Lemmy clearly looking for emotional support. He was scared, scared of judgment on some level. Ludwig turned back to the rest of his siblings.

"There is something I need to tell you all."

The other Koopalings looked interested now. Ludwig took deep breaths, clearly trying to calm his nerves.

"Iggy," he finally said. "Have you ever heard of a city called Frostwall?"

Iggy considered this.

"Yeah, I think I have," he said. "I believe it was destroyed sometime during the Koopa Mushroom War."

Ludwig took another shaky breath, his eyes starting to water.

"That's not true."

The others looked surprised.

"What do you mean?" asked Morton.

Ludwig looked over at Lemmy again, who smiled with his eyes. Ludwig let out another breath.

"Frostwall wasn't destroyed during the Koopa Mushroom War. It was destroyed by me."

Now the others weren't just surprised, they were downright shocked.

"What?" asked Larry.

So, Ludwig got to examining what had happened. As he did, Lemmy was able to visualize the imagery that Ludwig had shown him in the dream. He could also see that his brother was gripping the jasper again. Once he had finished, the eyes of the other Koopalings were wide.

"You destroyed an entire city? When you were seven?" asked Larry.

Ludwig nodded. He had been teary eyed when he was telling the story, but now he was practically sobbing.

"Yes," he answered. "And I know that it was a terrible thing to do.."

Ludwig didn't finish his sentence because Roy had come over and wrapped him in a hug. The other Koopalings all joined in, burying Ludwig. Once they all let go, Ludwig looked shocked.

"What was that for?"

Wendy looked at him sympathetically.

"You've clearly been holding onto this secret for a long time," she said. "We wanted to help out on some level."

Ludwig's shock multiplied.

"I don't think you guys understand the scope of the situation. I destroyed a city! I commited genocide; I'm a murderer!"

"That may be true," Iggy said. "But you're still our brother. And we don't love you any less."

"Besides, we all make mistakes sometime," said Roy. "One time, I accidentally put ketchup on my peanut butter and jelly sandwich."

Larry giggled.

"One time, I crashed an airship."

"And one time," Morton said, "I accidentally downloaded the soundtrack to Rainbow Mare season 4 from a piracy website."

Ludwig shook his head.

"That's not the same thing."

"Either way," said Wendy. "We don't hold this against you. If you expected us to love you any less Ludwig, then I'm sorry, but you are mightily wrong."

Ludwig looked shocked again. Lemmy could see that it was all starting to come crashing down on him. He looked at Lemmy. Then he looked back at his siblings. Tears were starting to form again.

"What did I do to deserve you guys?"

The other Koopalings smiled. Then, they all got in on the group hug again.

AN: Woohoo! Another story is finished. Thanks so much to all of you for reading, and special shoutouts to breath20k and LePurpleJoy for favoriting, and Croanmire, LiamTheYoshi, seaofvoices, EAParakeet, LethalLemonbutbetter, and TrimusicaDrag00n90 for favoriting and following. Also, special shootout to Amethyst Goldenwind for reviewing every chapter.

Now, I don't know how long it is going to be before the next episode is published. I want to say soon, but I don't know. I need to do some planning for it first. But until then, I'll see you all next time :)